Man pleads guilty to kicking Phoenixville police officer in head

WEST CHESTER — A Schuylkill man who had been scheduled to begin a trial Monday in Chester County Court on accusations that he kicked a Phoenixville police officer in the head during a drunken rage changed his mind and pleaded guilty.

William J. Gruber III will be sentenced at a date in November on charges of aggravated assault against a law enforcement officer, terroristic threats, and disorderly conduct.

According to Deputy District Attorney Michelle Frei, who is prosecuting the case, Gruber punched Phoenixville Officer Sean Knapp while he was being treated for an anxiety episode at the Phoenixville Hospital in March, and then while he was scuffling with Knapp kicked him in the back of his head while wearing heavy work boots. Knapp was not seriously injured.

Senior Judge Thomas Gavin accepted the pleas, noting that he would wait until Nov. 22 to impose a sentence on Gruber. The state sentencing guidelines call for a period of incarceration of between six and 14 months for the assault charge, and less on the misdemeanor counts.

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Gruber, 21, of East Philip Drive, did not address the court except to answer questions about his decision to enter the guilty pleas. He did not indicate what had made him change his mind to plead guilty rather than go to trial Monday.

He was accompanied by his attorney Michael Quinn of Norristown, who told Gavin that his client was being treated for alcohol abuse and mental health issues, and that he would present evidence at sentencing that he hoped would mitigate whatever sentence Gavin decided to impose.

According to Frei, the incident with Knapp began the night of March 2. Gruber, who was apparently intoxicated, was thrown out of Club 212, a Phoenixville nightspot on Bridge Street, for fighting. He was taken to the borough police department, where he was being processed for public drunkenness when he complained of breathing problems.

He reportedly suffered from a heart condition, and thus was taken to the hospital via ambulance around 2 a.m.

According to the arrest affidavit Knapp later filed in the case, he received a call from hospital personnel about a disturbance in the emergency room involving Gruber. A security guard there, Kevin Naylis, as well as two nurses, Joseph Dziedzic and Elizabeth Koch, said that Gruber was combative and unruly.

As they were attempting to deal with Gruber, Frei told Gavin, two state police troopers from the Skippack barracks arrived with a drunk driving suspect and tried to get Gruber under control. But when Knapp arrived, Gruber was still unruly and refused to take orders.

As Knapp attempted to handcuff Gruber, he swung at the officer and knocked the cuffs from his hands. Knapp said that he attempted to grab his arm, but that Gruber turned and kicked him in the head.

Two other officers, Marvin Rosario from Phoenixville and Chris Aquilante of Schuylkill, arrived at the hospital and were able to handcuff Gruber to a hospital bed. While he was handcuffed he shouted racial slurs at Rosario and threatened to kill him, Frei said. At one point Gruber told the officer that he knew where he lived and where his wife worked.

Quinn, in commenting on the case to Gavin, said that he would present testimony to show that Gruber had not kicked Knapp in the head, but rather in the back and chest.

“Alcohol was the principal motivation for the behavior that night,” Quinn said.